Adjustment
by warinbabylon
Summary: After the accident, the Doctor has to make some adjustments to his life he had never considered before. He's not sure what to make of it. Part 4 of the Nowhere Series
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: This all belongs to the BBC. I just play in my spare time.

**

Peri answered the door knock quickly, glad that Amy was in the bedroom. As she opened the door, the Doctor entered. He barely gave his companion a glance before he strode across the room to the pad of paper next to the telephone. "Peri, I'm going to hospital. I'm leaving you a number. It's Tegan's parents. Please call them and tell them what's happened and tell them East General. Tell them you're a friend of mine and that I'm there."

"What has happened? I mean I heard-"

"Tegan's car was hitI don't know. The driver missed the turnhe wasn't paying attentionit's not important. Both she and Michael were injured; they were standing next to it. She was closest, as far as I can tell, and had the presence of mind to push or throw Michael a distance away. If the other car hadn't run into a light pole, she would probably be dead."

Peri frowned. The Doctor's voice was incredibly tight with stress. "How badly-"

"I don't know," he nearly shouted, but then calmed, rubbing his temples. "I don't know how badly she's hurt. At least one of her legs was badly broken and she has head trauma. She needs an internal scan. She's lost consciousness. Please," he muttered, turning toward the door again. "Call that number I gave you and pass on the information. Her parents should know immediately. The medical team wrote my alias down as a close family friend and contact. I'm allowed to get information at the hospital, but I must get there. The ambulance with she and Michael has left."

As he made for the door, he heard Amy shuffling around in her room. "Blast and Gallifrey," he sighed. "Amy!" he called, with a moment's hesitation.

The girl ran from her bedroom, and in Peri's estimation, she was expecting to see her mother. The Doctor went down on one knee and reached out to clasp Amy's small shoulders. "Momma?" she asked and then repeated it a little more quietly.

The Doctor swallowed and closed his eyes. "Amy, you mothershe's been hurt."

"She stubbed her toe?" Amy asked earnestly. "Like I did last week?"

"No," he answered with a frown. Peri could see he was stumbling through how to tell the girl the truth without causing hysteria. "There was an accident with the car. She's gone to hospital."

Amy's eyes welled up in tears. "I want to see my Momma," she quietly cried. 

"And you will. Your grandparents will be coming and getting you and will bring you down to the hospital."

"Are you going?" the girl demanded.

"Yes, but I can't take you with me," he replied and squeezed her shoulders when she began to cry in earnest. 

"Michael? And why can't I go?"

"Your brother was hurt too, Amy. I can't take you because I need you here to wait for your grandparents. You know your Grandmama: she'll be very upset. I shall need you to help Peri and your grandfather with her, all right? Peri doesn't know London at all. You'll have to help her get to the hospital, all right?"

Amy frowned. He awkwardly brought the girl into an embrace, cuddling her to his shoulder. "I need you to be the woman of the house," he stated. "Please? A knight always needs his lady, you know."

With a teary nod, she lifted her chin from his shoulder. "I'll see you at hospital?"

"When you get there, I'll be waiting for you. You won't be alone. I promise. Help Peri, please?" he asked, wiping a tear away from her cheek. "And don't worry. I'm sure everyone will be fine."

The girl gave him a nod and then glanced at Peri. The Doctor nodded. "Peri. Keep Amy company, please. And call that number. I must dash."

Peri reached down to hold Amy's shoulders as the Doctor rose and nodded. Turning to the door, he called out a hurried goodbye and fled the apartment. Amy glanced up at Peri with a frown and looked to the telephone. 

**

The Doctor ran down to the street and glanced up and down the road looking for a way to get to the hospital. Tegan's car had been destroyed and the ambulance had left. It was at that moment that he realized he was not thinking clearly. A few people who had seen the accident and hence his involvement were still milling around in the street. One, an elderly lady, came over to him. 

"It was your woman, wasn't it? The one that was struck. Was it your boy too?"

The Doctor frowned. "He wasn't my boy and I am a very close friend of the woman, yes."

"Going to the hospital, are you?"

"Yes, madam," he answered tersely. "Now, if you don't mind"

"One of the officers is still here. He might be prevailed on to take you, lad. Your auto is rather worse for the wear. I do hope your woman is all right."

The Doctor, upon hearing about the officer, glanced about and barely heard the last comment of the woman. He gave her a distant stare and nodded, swallowing. "Thank you. And I'm sure she will be; she has to be." He bowed his head and ran off toward the police cruiser that was beginning to pull away from the curb. With a shout, he ran toward it. After a couple of terse words, a plea and a pleading look, he entered the car and they were off.

The officer wasn't one for conversation and the Doctor was glad. For some reason, he was very much not in the mood to talk with anyone. This was a situation he wasn't and hadn't been prepared to handle. When he had run out of the building and saw Michael lying near the building across the street with his arm bent and useless, he had felt a bubble of panic rising in his throat. His medical knowledge was enough to know the boy was badly hurt and the arm was broken, possibly in multiple places. By the time he had reached the lad, the boy had ceased to cry and was in shock. He had reassured Michael as best he could, but had left him in the capable hands of the medics that arrived.

No, it had been the sight of Tegan lying in a growing pool of blood that made his stomach hurt, his eyes daze and his mind numb. He had realized that Michael didn't have severe head trauma. He knew the boy was in shock from the pain, but that in all probability, he would be quite all right once he was cared for. He had watched as Tegan had tried to rise up to run to her child, but her legs were badly mangled. She hadn't been able to move. When she laid back down on the pavement, he had seen the growing pool of blood behind her head. He knew she had head trauma. But still she tried to move. She had only ceased the movement when he had gone to her child. 

He had felt entirely helpless for the both of them and had wanted to carry Michael to the ambulance and go with Tegan to the hospital. Her whispered plea to take care of her children and made him stop from going. He had had to see to Amy. He had had to contact her family. But now, that was done. He had to find Tegan. He wanted to know what was going on, how bad her injuries were, what her prognosis was and whether Michael had any further damage beyond the arm. 

**

He thanked the officer profusely and ran in the emergency entrance of the hospital. As he entered the building, he suddenly wondered why he never carried UNIT credentials. Those papers could have gotten him immediate entrance and Tegan and Michael immediate care. He was caught in the bustle of people trying to get information, trying to find their families and love ones. With a moan, he lifted his arm to allow a woman and a small child to go to a chair before he walked to the main desk.

He leaned over the counter and tried to catch the nurses' attention. "Excuse me."

"You'll have to wait." Came the simple, terse reply.

The Doctor grunted and lifted an eyebrow. "I only need information."

"You'll have to wait," the nurse lifted her eyes and speared him with a weary stare. "Everyone here needs information."

With a sigh, he leaned further over the desk. He didn't quite understand what he was feeling, but he knew it was akin to the reactions he had with Cybermen and Daleks. "Severe car accident. A Mrs. Tegan Jones and her son, Michael. Head trauma and several broken limbs."

The older nurse looked up and gave him a blank stare tinged with agitation. The younger nurse took pity on him. "They just got here twenty minutes ago, sir. It's your wife and son?"

The Doctor grimaced. He could see by the gentle glaze to the woman's eyes that she was sympathetic to him. If he said he was her husband, he would probably get the information he wanted immediately. If he said he wasn't he would wait. To him there really wasn't any other way. "We're not married, yet." He hedged, hoping that the nurse wouldn't be able to see the flash of dishonesty in his eyes. "My name is John Smith, Doctor John Smith. I am the"

At the mention of 'doctor', the younger nurse began to dig through the admittance papers near her hand. "Tegan Jones and Michael" she bit her lip as she dug through the papers. A small part of the Doctor wanted to say 'hurry up' or help her dig through the pile with her. He wanted the information. Terribly.

"Ahthey came in on 419. She was taken into the main floor OR for a Cat Scan and MRI and Michael was taken in to set his arm."

"Where"

"You are listed as next of kin by the driver," she confirmed. With a slim hand, she pointed down the corridor. He turned and began to walk away as she continued: "You won't be able to see the woman. But there is one team working on the both of them. ER arena 2."

With a terse nod, he showed he had heard and set out at a walk that quickly became a run as he barreled down the crowded hall.

**

He stood next to Michael's bed and smiled down at the boy. He had shared words with him and knew the boy didn't have head trauma. After fifteen minutes or so, Michael had drifted off to sleep from the meds he was given and from a decrease in adrenaline level. 

"He's lucky." The Doctor glanced over at the resident who was filling out Michael's chart. "I understand his mother threw him clear"

The Doctor nodded, stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Yes."

"He would have been hurt a lot worse" the man answered. With a flourish, he finished signing the chart. "Compound fracture of the arm and a dislocated shoulder. Not bad by all accounts."

With another nod, the Doctor licked his lips. "By all accounts, yes. You have him on pain decreasers?"

"And an anti-inflammatory agent, yes." 

The Doctor sat down in the chair and wearily met the young doctor's stare. "And his mother?"

The resident lifted an eyebrow. "Well, she is rather worse off, as I think you've been told?"

"Yes. She's undergoing an MRI and a CAT scan. She has head trauma and they were talking about invasive procedures to alleviate the probable subcranial hematoma. Additionally, from what I understand, she also has a shattered right femur, and compound fracture of the left tibia."

The resident crossed his arms over his chest. "There is probable nerve damage as well."

"Ah, yes. I seem to have forgotten that," the Doctor muttered glumly. He wearily lowered his head to his hands. 

"That's all I can tell you; it's all I know," the young man replied. 

"How long until she is out of the scans?" the Doctor asked, quietly, weakly.

"It should be any time. The rest of the team was told to find you here. I am sorry for your wife and son, sir. But I must commend you on your presence of mind"

The Doctor nodded, not willing to argue the point about whether Tegan was his spouse or not. It would take too much precious energy. If it got him information quicker, he was willing to put up with the rouse. "Tegan's parents are coming here"

"You've given their names? Good. They need only say their names to be shown here. Shall I send in a nurse, sir?"

"No, no. I'll be quite all right, thank you. I suppose its all just hurry up and wait now," he joked. 

"Very good, sir," the young resident replied. As he left, the Doctor relaxed back in the chair and laid his hand on Michael's arm. He gently patted the small, thin unbroken arm outlined under the blanket. 

"I'm glad we were able to put you back together again," the Doctor said quietly, his eyes closed. "I'm glad it wasn't worse, Michael. You'll be in pain, lad, but you'll be all right. Blast," he whispered. "I wish I had been down there with you and your mother. And damn and blast, I wish I knew what was going on with Tegan."

**

When the door flew open about a half an hour later, the Doctor's eyes sprung open and he came to his feet quickly. Instead of stern faced doctors, he saw Samantha and Dean Jovanka at the threshold with Peri and Amy right behind them. Before he could gain his complete height, Amy was running around the bed to him. He could see the tears on her face before she got to him and he reached down to scoop her up as she slid to a stop. There were many times he thanked Rassilon Gallifreyans were stronger than humans. This was definitely one of those times. He lifted the girl so that she could hug his neck and then settled her six year old frame on his hip. "Momma?" she tearfully demanded.

"I don't know yet," he replied honestly. "PeriMr.-"

"Dean and Samantha," Tegan's mother bit out. She walked around the bed and joined the Doctor at the bed rail. Her hand petted at her grandson's brow. "Dear Lord"

The Doctor lifted his gaze tiredly to Dean and then to Samantha. "He's sleeping peacefully. They have him on anti-inflammatory agents and pain reducers. They were able to realign his shoulder and set his arm. He hasn't stirred, but I did talk with him earlier. He will be all right. He should be all right, just in need of medications for a little while."

"And Tegan? My daughter?" Samantha fired out. "What happened to her?"

"Sam," Dean warned. "It's not the Doctor's fault. Thank you, lad, for being here."

Amy sniffled and rubbed her face into his shoulder and the Doctor grimaced. "He'll be quite all right, Amy," he whispered. Somehow, he adjusted her weight as the girl fully hugged his neck. "I promise."

Dean came around to support his wife and laid his hands on her shoulder. "Sam, dear. You know how hospital is. We'll have to wait to find out what has gone on with her. Let me get you a seat. Your young friend here, Peri, let us know everything"

Peri gave the Doctor a smile as he nodded his thanks. "Thank you, Peri."

"I helped," Amy informed him with a sniffle. 

"Quite the lady," he answered with a weak, but heartfelt smile. Then with a nod to the others, he motioned to his chair. "Please, Samtake my seat. I have a feeling, we'll have a wait."

**

Peri yawned and rolled her head sideways. The Doctor sat next to her and next to Michael's bed. They had been waiting for hours and with each passing hour, he had gotten more edgy. Often he would pace, sweeping across the floor with long steps. Amy would not allow him to put her down so he did so with her in his arms. Initially, Peri couldn't understand why the child didn't want her grandparents, but as time wore on she realized what the problem was. Samantha Jovanka was beside herself with worry often sighing loudly at the wait. Dean was completely tied up with his wife and keeping her calm. The Doctor, however, was calm. Worried, but calm. The child was lulled by his natural ability to weather crises. 

But now, the Doctor was seated in the chair, his eyes half closed with Amy half asleep, sprawled across his chest. He had tucked the girl's crown under his chin. Rhythmical patting to the child was as much for his comfort as for hers, Peri suspected. "Are you all right?" she whispered.

The Doctor opened his eyes and glanced over at her. Their usual blue was glassy. "As I suppose I could be"

"I think she'll be all right."

"I know she will be," the Doctor stated quietly. By the tone of his voice, Peri knew not to argue. 

They couldn't continue the conversation as the door to the room opened and everyone inside rose to greet two doctors as they entered the room.

**

The Doctor frowned and rubbed his forehead against the edge of the doorjam. The room within was rather dim, but it was all for the better he supposed. Even for his Gallifreyan physiology, the day had been taxing. The last hour had been just as harrowing. He had been the contact for the family; he had more understanding of the medical terminology. Dean had been in charge of determining contacts for Tegan's job and friends. And Sam had been beside herself with grief and worry. Peri had tried her best to see to everyone, but she had tired. 

And Amy had simply clung to his neck, and wordlessly watched the adults around her deal with life. He had felt a certain affinity for the girl, he supposed. She acted out what he felt: sheer hopelessness. The one thing he had been able to do was secure a medical pass through UNIT to remain with Tegan and Michael at the hospital while the rest of her family ventured home to sleep. 

So here he stood. He had just checked on Michael, but the boy was comfortably asleep. His vitals were good. And he was young enough that his injuries would heal relatively quickly. It was Tegan he worried about and for. 

She was still unconscious. And they had no idea when she would regain consciousness. Her right leg was indeed shattered and she had undergone surgery to reconstruct what they could. She would walk, eventually. The other leg had had compound fracture and was in a cast. The subcranial hemorrhage she had had been relieved, but the pressure had caused some damage. The scans couldn't tell the complete extent of damage, they had to wait until she awoke to assess. 

But Tegan hadn't even batted an eye since she had fallen into a coma with him on the street. 

She was breathing on her own; the Doctor supposed that was something. Blessedly little to comfort him or her daughter and parents, but it was something. Amy's final words in saying goodnight to him haunted him as he ventured to the bedside chair to sit. "Is Momma dead? Why doesn't she wake up? Will you read to her?"

He hung his head, supporting it on his palms. There was nothing in the TARDIS that could help Tegan. He could mend the bones and the damage, but he couldn't return loss of use after it had occurred. If she was asleep, her mind and brain had induced the stasis to rectify damage and return use, he mused. Waking her up prematurely would inflict more damage than good. 

"Will I read to her indeed," he sighed and opened his eyes to look at Tegan. She lay deathly still on the mattress. "No, my dear Amy," he whispered. "All of my stories your mother has heard before, or she was in them herself."

He glanced over at the equipment connected to Tegan and watched the steady, easy blip and beep of the heart monitor. Then with a frown, he continued his thought. "The first twenty-four hours are critical, Tegan, when the coma isn't medically induced. You have to come around quickly, or this whole party will be for nothing." He moved his stare from the equipment to Tegan and his frown softened. "And I do believe, Miss Tegan, that this is the quietest I have ever seen or heard you."

A shy glance behind him revealed that there were no nurses or other medical personnel to spy on them. "I don't know how to handle you quiet, Tegan. I rather missed the noise when you left." He smiled and turned his chair towards the bed. "No, that's not entirely true. I missed you, not the noise. You see, when you left, it wasn't only me missing a dear friend but I was forced to realize that you were more like me than not. I saw myself leaving Gallifrey when you walked away from Turlough and I. That hurt. Not as much, mind you, as the quite acute cut you gave me when you left, but rather like seeing a part of myself that had hurt others. We, you and I, Tegan, are very much peas in a pod with our tempers and our senses of humor. I knew that before you left."

He lowered a hand to feel at her wrist. Her pulse was still strong. 

"I know one is supposed to talk to those in a coma, Tegan. I know it does help. But as I said, there are blessed few things, blessed few stories that I haven't told you. Save one. The one thing I think you've wanted to know since you first joined me years ago. You want to know why I left Gallifrey. And the reason I never answered you, Tegan, was because I would recite my reasons to myself and find them lacking. I don't entirely know why I left Gallifrey."

The Doctor frowned at the crease in her forehead and touched her brow, trying to smooth it. It stayed. "I was bored, hurt by their non-intervention and aching for adventure. That's all there is to it. I was young and foolish, but I wouldn't change a moment of my life. I wouldn't have had the friends I have had, seen the places I have seen, or done anything remotely close to what I have if I had stayed on Gallifrey."

He didn't know if he expected her to move or react to his announcement, but she didn't. He adjusted the chair and held her hand. "Well" he whispered and relaxed back into the chair, holding her hand tightly. "Let's talk about your children, Tegan. They are wholly wonderful and energetic children and will do you proud. And when I leave you and yours, I do miss them"

**

It was barely two am when a nurse came into see if he needed anything and to make notes on Tegan's chart. He gave the slim woman a smile and then returned to his vigil. 

"Talking to her, are you?"

He nodded and took a deep breath. Then with a shrug, he sheepishly replied: "It couldn't hurt."

"Of course not, it's the best thing for her," the nurse agreed wholeheartedly. "It always helps to hear that someone loves them whether awake or asleep. I think, actually, that it helps more when a person is in a coma. It gives them something to come back to" She completed her comment and shrugged. "You're here for Michael Jones as well, aren't you?"

"Yes," he responded. He refrained from commenting to the nurse that he wasn't Tegan's lover or spouse. It wasn't worth his energy, he had decided. It was much better to conserve for other crises that loomed on the horizon. "He is all right, isn't he?"

"Yes, quite well in fact. He is awake and asking for his mother."

The Doctor frowned and squeezed Tegan's hand. The chair scraped across the floor as he rose. "I'll go to him. A familiar face and all that"

"You aren't his father?"

"No, but I'm the contact for the family legally and a close family friend. He knows me well," he explained and laid Tegan's hand gently down on the bed. He didn't want to leave her alone for long. The nurse sensed that, he supposed, because the young girl suddenly nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"I'm done my rounds in a few minutes. I'll come back and talk with her, if you'd like. Keep her company for you. It's a tad more something to do than filling out paperwork."

The Doctor gave her a warm smile. "I would appreciate that, yes. Thank you. They haven't moved Michael, have they?"

"No. Room 34, Bed B."

He nodded and exited quickly, striding down the empty corridor with long, sure steps. 

**

The Doctor had faced down Cybermen and Daleks, and had been subjected to some of the greatest evils ever exerted on civilization, but he had never felt his heart tighten the way it did when he opened the door to Michael's room. He shared it with another young boy with similar injuries who was still asleep. When he walked around the curtain, he heard Michael crying quietly. The nurse at his bedside glanced up thankful for the arrival.

Michael held out his good arm to the Doctor and whimpered quietly. The Time Lord walked around the bed and bent over the young boy, brushing his hair back from his brow. "Hello, Michael."

"Where's Momma?" Michael demanded quietly. "I want Momma."

The Doctor sighed heavily, his eyes half-closing in weary defeat. He smiled to the nurse as the woman left and drew the chair up to the side of the bed. "Michael, your Momma is sick right now and she's resting. "

"Momma's sick?" Michael appeared to weaken in his crying and sobered a little. 

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Yes. Very sick."

The child's lower lip trembled and the Doctor watched silent tears fall from his eyes. The silent crying affected him more than the low sobbing. "But I'm here, Michael. And you and I, we are friends, yes?" the Doctor attempted to the situation less tense. 

"Can I see Momma?" 

The Doctor thought about it for a moment, but then slowly shook his head. "In the morning, Michael. Let's let Momma sleep."

Michael's slow, silent tears continued. He could tell the boy was terrified. As he hadn't had a lot of experience with young children in this type of situation, he wondered with he should do. He knew that sitting in the chair staring at the boy and trying to reckon with him wasn't a good idea. The child was terrified and logic with a four year old wasn't the best option. "What would you like," he asked, quietly, aware that he needed the boy's input. "Hmm? What would you like me to do for you, Michael?"

"Momma holds me."

The Doctor gave a tight smile as if to say 'of course, how silly of me'. "You aren't tired?"

"No."

The Doctor frowned and glanced to the door, but he supposed if he could hold the boy without jostling his injured arm, it would be all right. He lifted the boy quietly and settled the lad on his lap. As his sister had done that afternoon, Michael put his chubby, well arm around the Time Lord's neck. The Doctor found that it was a position he was quite comfortable with and settled back into the chair. "Shall I tell you a story?"

The boy nodded, sadly. 

With a smile, the Doctor looked down at his young charge. He rested back against the chair and stretched out his legs in front of him. He knew he would go back to Tegan, but Michael needed him at that moment. And until he could get permission to take the child into intensive care, he had to stay here. He widened his eyes playfully and nodded to the side. "Would you like to hear about the evil metal men or the possessed pepper pots?" he asked earnestly. 

**

"How is she?"

The nurse turned from the bed and gave the Time Lord a reproachful glance. "You haven't slept at all, have you?"

In agitation, admittedly his temper was getting short, he waved his hand to the side to dismiss her reproach. "I'm not tired. How is she?"

As the nurse moved to the side and the bed was visible, he moved his gaze to his friend. She still lay silent and still under the sheets. He walked forward, but the nurse let him know the basics. "Her condition hasn't changed; her vitals are strong."

"Ah, well" he sighed. He regained his vigil in the chair by her bed. "Her son, Michael," he stated. "Has gone back to sleep."

The young nurse nodded and retreated obviously in need to return to her rounds and paperwork. As the door shut on her exit, the Doctor sighed again and closed his eyes. It was obvious he was weary, he supposed, but it was more from situations and not from actual physical exhaustion. Michael had indeed gone back to sleep, but only after he had listened to two stories about the Daleks from him. 

He opened his eyes slowly to spy his hand laying on top of Tegan's. "Michael is quite a young lad, Tegan. For a child with a compound fracture, he is doing quite well. And without Amy around, he is very talkative. Don't get me wrong, Tegan, I do find your daughter very interesting and quite enjoyable, but I do think it is her talkative presence that makes Michael take a back seat. The questions he was asking me," he smiled widely in spite of the situation. "It was almost as if you were there. He is very much your son, just as Amy is very much your daughter. I don't think Michael is behind in his development at all. He simply lets his sister do his talking." 

He stifled his smile and picked up Tegan's hand. A thought struck his mind like lightning and he sobered completely. "You asked me, Tegan, begged me to take care of them. And I will, I would. Without question. Of course," he gave a small, serious smile, "I'm sure your mother would have an idea about it. But you would have to realize that they would know the TARDIS and what I waswhen they were old enough. There's something about traveling with two childrenwith the situations I often find myself in, as you well know, that would be not kind to their development. And their schooling. Although I'm sure I could show them a great deal and they would learn on a Universal scale instead just England, Earth. Why the Earth is so parochial, I'll never know."

"But that's beside the point. Tegan," he sighed and scooted closer to the bed, leaning both elbows on the surface. He held her hand between the both of his. "I would do as you asked. I would do as you've told me you've wished for them. I've never deliberately planned on staying anywhere, Earth included, for as long as their childhood and early adulthood would last. I don't know how I'll act. I have been known to be rather tetchy at times especially when my wings are clipped so to speak, but this time it'll be me clipping my own wings. But I would stay, with some juggling, you realize. Peri would have a decision to make as to her own path."

He closed his eyes and grimaced. "The point I'm trying to make here is: I would do it, Tegan. But, I would rather like you to be here. They need their mother and I need my friend. Regardless of our arguments and shouting matches, we were there for each other. The Universe would be a different place if you leave, you know. So, you see," he gave a sharp glance to the wall clock and then frowned. "You've been unconscious for a little over nineteen hours, Tegan. I quite think it's time you wake up."

He reached out to rest his hand against her brow while continuing to hold her hand in his other. "Please wake up."

The movement was miniscule at best, but he felt the wincing at her brow and a slight trembling in her hand. The smile that touched his lips was ridiculously wide, he guessed, but he couldn't stop the show of emotion. "Oh Tegan, that's it. Wake up. Take your time, but do hurry up. Let me find your physician."

He reached over the bed and pulled the alert wire near the head board. 

**

The hallway was filled with voices. The Doctor lifted his head with a welcoming smile. Michael was seated on his lap, his injured arm tucked between them where it was at little risk of getting more hurt. The Doctor had commandeered a coloring book from the waiting area and the boy was using his chest as a table surface to hold his book. "It's your grandparents," the Doctor said cheerfully. 

Samantha came forward to claim her grandson and Dean made for the door. "Ah, wellthe doctors are in with Tegan right now," the Doctor replied in response to the door not opening for the father. In response to their surprised looks, he quickly continued. "I couldn't get ahold of you; you had already left the apartment. Tegan is awake. Very groggy, very much weak, but awake. And I am sorry, Sam, they threw me out as well."

"She is"

"Fine. It'll take some adjustment dealing with her broken limbs, but she is fine."

Sam weakly rested against the wall as Dean gently rubbed his wife's shoulders. "You see, dear? I told you she would pull through"

His sharp glance with a questioning raise of his eyebrows made the Doctor lick his lips. "Yes, wellshe will have a problem with the shaving of the back of her head, if I know Tegan. And she'll hate having her mobility decreased because of her shattered and broken bones, but she is alive and awake."

"Anydamage?"

The Doctor glanced down at Michael. After the boy had received a hug and kiss from his grandmother and a ruffle to his hair from his grandfather, Michael had remained on his lap coloring. He expected that his shirt would have the dribblings of his crayons. "Amy?" he asked quietly.

"Your friend Peri is getting her flowers to bring up to her mother and brother in the gift shop," Dean offered.

"You haven't answered" Sam demanded.

"Because I don't know. She knew me. The doctors are in there doing tests of motion, logic and sensory response."

Before Sam or Dean could comment, the door cracked open to reveal a happy face of a doctor. The door opened more to admit several men into the corridor and then a nurse waved them into the room. With a smile and a nod of thanks, the Doctor rose to follow Tegan's ecstatic parents into the room. Michael clutched his picture in his hand and hung onto the Doctor's neck with his other arm. Just before the door shut, he spied Peri coming down the corridor hand in hand with Amy. He held the door open with his hip and admonished: "Hurry along, you lot."

**

Homecoming Day

**

"My head aches."

The banality of the words had the Doctor grinning like a madman. He lifted an eyebrow and gave Tegan a warm glance. "If that's all, Tegan"

"I'm grouchy."

"Yes, wellthat's normal," he smiled. He gave her a grin from the driver's seat and then returned his attention to the road. "Comfortable?"

"Enough of the badly timed jokes, Doctor," Tegan groused. "No, I'm not. These casts weigh a ton. And I itch." 

"We're almost to your apartment," he reassured. 

"And I suppose Mom and Dad and Amy and Michael are planning some sort of welcome home thing" she sighed. "I just want to sleep."

"It's the stress. Do try and at least smile at them," he admonished. "Amy's been planning this for a month."

Tegan gave a short, painful nod. "Have we given thought to how I'm to climb to the second story?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes and then closed them in pain. The Doctor ceased his smile and continued to drive. Tegan looked older. He had heard it said that pain could age a person. And Tegan had been through a bit of pain in the last four weeks. It had been determined that she had suffered some peripheral nerve damage in her legs and had harmed her sensory retainers in her left arm. She would regain it in time and after twelve weeks the casts would come off and she would walk again. At least walk without assistance, that was. Until that point, Tegan was like a bird with her wings clipped and was reliant on those around her for mobility. She didn't like it much. Another glance at her made him see that she was in pain then. He reached into the back seat and brought his coat up and pressed it into the chasm between the seat and the console in between them.

She blinked her eyes open and gave him a thankful smile. "My hips are aching. Terribly."

"Weight as you said," he replied, stopping the car. He nodded to the front door that led to the stairs. "I've permission to park here for the day. Are you ready for a stroll?"

"Very funny. I can't even crawl," she grumbled. "And I just want to be home with my children."

"For a little bit," he sighed, opening his door. "It was possible you wouldn't be with them. Be thankful for what you do have, Tegan," he pressed. He shut his door and stopped Tegan's from opening too quickly as he came around the car. "Right, Tegan. We're going to make this quick and painless." He knelt and patted his knee. "Put your arms around my neck as easily as you can. I'm carrying you."

Tegan lifted an eyebrow. "That'll be a first."

"Not quite."

With a grimace, she put her arm around his neck and he effortlessly stood, hefting her and her dual casts. Her hand slapped against the door and it slammed. "Oh yes, I've forgotten. Pedia 4. But you did carry me very grudgingly if I remember it well."

"Well, Tegan," he sighed. "It was only because you were rather intoxicated."

He climbed the stairs as Tegan happily recounted the party Adric, Nyssa, she and the Doctor had attended on that planet. It had been one of the few times in the early days of traveling with the Time Lord that she had enjoyed herself and it was the first time she had decided to stay with the Doctor. When the door to the apartment banged open, she was showered with cries of 'welcome home' and 'Momma!'. The Doctor smiled down at his friend as she laughed tiredly. 

"Good Lord, what have you all been doing? What has happened to my apartment?" she sputtered good- naturedly. 

Amy bounced over to her mother, holding a drawn picture of a family. Tegan gushed as a mother should over the work of her eldest child. But the Doctor, gently adjusting his arms to continue holding his friend, frowned slightly at the image the child had drawn. He was thankful when he took Tegan to the sitting room couch and settled her into the ready made nest. Dean was there to help lower his daughter to the cushions. 

"We've gotten this apartment into shape for a long tenure, Tegan," Samantha Jovanka called. Her body followed the call of her voice as she exited the kitchen. "I've been baking and cooking for a week. Your freezer is well stocked."

"Oh Lord," Tegan whispered and the Doctor nearly laughed at her feigned horror. "And I suppose we've had a family meeting to which I wasn't invited. Very well, then. What's the plan?"

"Well, your mother has, as she said, stocked the fridge. Michael's been moved into your bedroom so that he has the double bed to rest his arm for the next two weeks." Dean helpfully supplied as he helped the Doctor support Tegan's legs with pillows. 

"Yes, well, it was the best I could figure out. Amy is still in her room," the Doctor quietly added. "You're going to stay on the couch. It's the only place where movement is easiest for you and us. And the only place where we can support your back and your legs."

"And Mom is staying here?" Tegan asked.

"No. Not all the time, rather," the Doctor continued. "She'll be here every weekend. Your Dad can't take the time off from work, I'm afraid."

"Then?" Tegan pressed. "I'm afraid to ask how I'm supposed to do this."

Samantha sat down in the chair across from her daughter and smiled up at the Doctor. "You'll have help here. The Doctor."

Tegan turned and glanced up at her friend in shock. He met her attention with a weak smile. 

**

The Doctor shut the door to Amy's bedroom with a sigh and walked past the couch rubbing his neck. Tegan glanced up at him and shifted her hips to take the weight off. After a few moments, the Doctor walked back out with tea for the both of them. She grimaced. "You've gotten rather good at putting them down for the night."

"Yes, well, four weeks makes for a generalized understanding that pleading with a child does work sometimes," he joked. "Amy has been a wonderful helper and assisting her brother makes her tired by the end of the day. On school days, she's to do her homework and help her brother."

Tegan thanked him for the tea and frowned over top of the cup to him. "She's sweet. She always has been, if not a tad bit opinionated. And I suppose that was when you would come into the hospital."

"Generally, yes. Sometimes Michael and I would take a turn in the park. We took in a test match last Sunday," he grinned, sinking into the arm chair. 

"You've not taken him to his babysitter?"

"Well, no," he replied with a smile. "I don't work. I can watch him. We've done a few museums as well."

"You're changing my child into an intellectual, aren't you? Admit it."

"Why should you be bothered with that, Tegan?" the Doctor mumbled in mock indignation. "He's delightful."

Tegan nodded, but the Doctor could see the tightening of her smile into a light grimace. "Are you sure you don't want your pain medication, Tegan?"

"No," came the expected and forceful answer. "I'll not become dependent on those, thank you very much. I feel better just being home." She shifted and set her tea cup down. "You've been sleeping on the couch, then?"

"Sometimes with Michael. He's having stress induced nightmares, but they are happening less frequently now. But yes, generally, I do stay out here on your couch."

"And Peri?" 

"She's back in her own time at Morocco; she's visiting friends, of course. She stayed for a week or two," he answered, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "She got along well with Amy, but Michael"

"Michael, yes" Tegan frowned. "He's rather taken with you, I'm afraid and Mom. He won't accept a lot more people into his life. Although I do think Peri is quite a good sort of person."

She yawned and put down her cup decisively. "And I guess it needs to be asked, Doc."

"What does, Tegan?"

"Why you are here. And why you are staying here to take care of me. You aren't responsible for me or my children, you know."

"Do you have a problem with me staying, Tegan?" he asked seriously, sitting forward. His hands rubbed at his knees agitatedly. "I didn't ask before. You had enough to deal with in hospital."

"It's not that I have a problem with it, Doc. It's that you really shouldn't have to do this."

"I don't have to, surely. It's more of the best logical answer for the situation. I don't work. I don't have a job to travel to. And although you mother seems to think I don't know my way around a kitchen, I do rather. I can give you and Michael somewhat consistent and informed care."

"But we're talking about a few months here, Doc. If you're staying until I'm able to move around again," she frowned at her casts. "Or at least until the pins and staples come out"

"I'm staying until its safe and smart to leave you to your own power, Tegan. I can't, with good conscience, leave you and Amy and Michael here like this. I want to be here or I wouldn't be here, trust that," he muttered. Then with a final rub to his legs, he speared her with a stare. "Unless you want me to leave, Tegan."

"I won't tell you to get out if that's what you're alluding to," she sighed. Then she laughed under her breath. "Doctor"

"You need my help and this is quite a relaxing time and less intensive than overhauling the TARDIS console."

"Yes, well, that won't help you and Peri later, will it? You'll end up like Stobly said all those years ago: over the rainbow," she sighed and became serious. "I do appreciate you being here. Amy and Michael are quite adjusted to you. And, quite frankly, I don't think I can tell you how much I liked seeing you at the hospital most days. I thought I was going out of my mind"

"The hardest part's to come. When you start physical training to get those two legs of yours working again" he shook his head. "It'll hurt. Look, let's just say, Tegan, that I want to be here, if for anything to make sure Amy gets her sums right at school for the next month. I know how you are with maths. And Michael needs to be kept busy or he fusses with his arm. If we gather the wheelchair from the TARDIS, you'll have some limited movement and we can at least go places about town."

"Lord, you still have that antique wheelchair?"

He lifted an eyebrow and she mouthed 'of course'. The Doctor nodded, seriously. "I won't need sleep tonight, Tegan. I'll mill around the apartment. But you, you should sleep."

Tegan yawned, more in agreement with her friend then she had ever thought she would be. As she drifted off, the Doctor finished his tea, gazing at the drawing the Amy had made of the family for Tegan's homecoming. He had hidden it from Tegan after she had originally given it a glance. As her breathing gently regulated into the typical deep respiration of a woman asleep, he gently eased out the paper. 

He couldn't quite put his finger on why it bothered him so, but Amy had drawn him in the picture. He was standing next to Tegan, holding Michael. Amy had drawn herself next to her mother, holding her hand. Well, he sighed, maybe it wasn't a complete enigma why he was bothered, he grimaced. Amy had written their names in bold child script across the bottom of the picture. Under his sketched outline, she had written: Doctor. She had made him part of her family. 

**

The first thing Tegan saw in the morning was the Doctor, asleep in the armchair, Michael curled on his lap. She frowned, worried at what had caused her son to come out in his slumber. She didn't want to disturb them, but found that she needed the bathroom horribly. "Doctor?"

Immediately, his eyes sprung open and he glanced at Tegan before his eyes fell to Michael on his lap. "Tegan?"

"Is he all right?" she asked. "And could you help me to thebathroom? I don't think I can crawl that far."

He gave her a small smile. "Actually, you should be using a catheter, Tegan."

She shuddered, and he held up a hand. "Let me put him back to bed, Tegan. He's quite all right. And then I shall be right back," he said at a whisper as he rose and slowly made his way into the bedroom. When he returned, he had rolled up the sleeves on his shirt and bent over her. "Now," he said with a light joking tone. "I shall carry you in, Tegan and put you down where you need to be. Do you think you shall be able to"

"Take off my clothes? I think I shall have to, don't you?" she groused. "I won't be able to keep my clothes on. And you're taking this rather well; please don't mention the catheter again, please?"

He laughed quietly as he lifted her. "You'll be all right if you can balance. I'll stay outside the door; call if you need help." 

**

"Stay close, Michael," the Doctor called, cheerfully. He glanced down to see the boy holding onto his trouser leg with a firm grip. Tegan glanced down as well and then back up to her friend. 

"Doctor, it would help if you would shorten your steps. He can't keep up with your stride. Where are you taking us?" she scolded and asked in turn. 

"To get your wheelchair," he answered cheerfully. 

Tegan gasped and dropped her hand from the Doctor's neck. Her legs were covered with a small blanket to keep the casts hidden but he could feel the tensing in her muscles. "Not the TARDIS, Doctor"

"It's the only place I keep my spare wheelchairs, Tegan," he chided. 

"Doctor, you'll not take Michael in there," she whispered. "No."

"Tegan, I couldn't leave him in the apartment alone. And you did complain about wanting to get out. You've been in the apartment for a week," he sighed exasperated. "I'm not going to move the TARDIS anywhere; he's quite safe."

"But, he'll know"

"He won't remember much about it, Tegan," he quietly mumbled. "Children take to the TARDIS more easily than adults. They simply see it as my home, my house as it were. It'll be all right, Tegan. Trust me."

She frowned at him until he averted his eyes. "You've brought him here before, haven't you?"

"Now, Tegan," he sighed. She felt him fumbling in his pocket and turned her head to see the TARDIS in all its dented, paint-peeling glory. "Really, I wouldn't have brought him here without your leave. Lean into me; I have to open the door."

"I don't really want to go in" she said quietly, her voice barely above a scared whisper. He stopped with the door unlocked and stared down at her. Her face was overly pale and she held his neck securely. 

"Tegan."

"Promise me you won't move it. Please. Promise me you won't take it anywhere, please," she whispered. "Not with Michael on board"

"I promise, Tegan," he sighed. And then he ushered Michael in and carried Tegan through the door. 

**


	2. Chapter 2

Tegan kept her eyes shut even after she heard the familiar metallic swish of the TARDIS doors closing. It wasn't until she heard her son quietly ask: "Doctor, is this your house?" that she remembered that they were closed. 

She opened her eyes to see her son squinting up at the Doctor in the dimness of the TARDIS. The dark of the TARDIS surprised her. She turned her head to look around the dark rose colored walls in the console room. "You've turned the power off."

"I've taken out the main time element," he quietly replied. "To leave the TARDIS for this long with it in without traveling would cause serious side effects on the old girl."

"You've grounded her?"

He gave her a slow nod, but answered Michael first. "Yes, Michael, this is my house. Quite nice isn't it? There's a chair in the corner over there, Mike. How about you help with the cushions for your Momma?"

As the Doctor made his way over to the chair with Tegan, he whispered the answer to her that clearly shocked her. "I had to ground her, Tegan, if I was going to stay with you."

As he sat her on the chair and let Michael happily adjust her cushions, she frowned up at him and squinted in confusion. He gave her a weak smile. "Stay here, Tegan, while I get your method of transportation."

He rose to continue out of the room; Michael bounced over to him and held up his arms. "Go with you?"

The Doctor gave Tegan a glance and then answered the little boy by scooping him up in his arms. "Just a small jaunt. We'll be right back."

**

When they appeared twenty minutes later, Tegan was in tears. He had only seen her cry five in his time with her. Usually she had a very good reason for crying, and usually he knew the reasons. The first time, her aunt had been killed. The second time was during Adric's death. The third time, the Mara. The fourth time stemmed from when she left him. And the fifth was her mild emotional cleansing when they had met once more. They were reactions to emotional stressors were logical. But this time, upon seeing tears in her eyes that she didn't hide from him, he was confused. 

"Tegan?" he asked quietly, while leaving Michael to calmly play with two puzzles he had picked up in Adric's old room. "Pain?"

"No," she said with gentle force. "No, no, not pain. I'm fine."

"Tears are not indicative of fine," he pressed. 

"Rabbits, you won't leave it alone until I tell you, I suppose," she complained, but with a small quiet hiccup. "You grounded her, Doc" she accused.

He was taken aback. He had expected shock or upset at being back in the TARDIS. He had not expected her to be emotional about the removal of the time element. 

"What about your link?" she bit out quietly, her eyes traveling to her son. "What about getting out of here, if you need to? What happened to not wanting"

"Tegan, I'm here because I want to help you. We discussed that," he responded, his tone caught half way between caring and agitated. "And my link still exists. She's still sentient, just grounded. And I don't see any need to leave THAT quickly"

"You don't understand," she frowned. "Why does that not surprise me?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and bent to lift her into the wheelchair. Michael clambered up onto her lap and they slowly wheeled out of the TARDIS and back into the early autumn sunlight of London.

**

The afternoon was spent tooling around London with Tegan in her wheelchair and Michael alternating between balancing on the arm of the chair and walking along side the Doctor with a death grip on the Time Lord's trousers. They visited as many stores as the Doctor could stomach and then visited a small nature museum near Tegan's flat. They were in no rush to go home as it was the weekend and Tegan's mother was coming and would be there for Amy. As they left the museum and rambled home, and Michael quietly napped propped with care on Tegan's lap, the Doctor quietly revisited the conversation they had been having in the TARDIS. 

He walked slowly, pushing the chair carefully. "What didn't I understand in the TARDIS, Tegan?" 

Tegan sighed and gently brushed the hair back from Michael's brow. Looking down, the Doctor could see the area of her head that had been shaved. It was growing back slowly. "Doc" she sighed. 

He slowed the chair even more and looked down at Tegan's hand slowly stroking Michael's brow. "Hmm?"

"You remember the time we left Little Hobcolm?" she started, quiet. "Do you remember the talk we had in the console room?"

He nodded slightly. "We discussed you staying."

"But why did we discuss me staying on Earth?" she pressed, looking up at him. "You were worried that I would stay with you past what I should. You thought I was giving up something I shouldn't have: continuing my life then."

He nodded more forcefully. "Well, I was right, Tegan. You probably should have stayed with your grandfather. We would have left on better terms."

"The point is," she continued, lowering her eyes to Michael. "I think you've given up something that you shouldn't have. I think you're staying beyond what you should. And I knowshe means to youthe TARDIS. I was upset, I suppose" she sighed and he could see some of her steel coming back. "Because you grounded her, Doc. You took out what makes her go. To stay here. I don't take well to guilt."

"There is nothing to be guilty about," he reassured and then sighed agitatedly. "Tegan, the TARDIS still means as much to me as she ever did."

"You hate to stay anywhere, for any time, Doc. I know you well enough"

"I'm here, Tegan."

"It's like clipping your wings, you always said"

"Tegan-"

"And I feel like somehow I held the scissors."

He stopped the chair by a cement planter in the sidewalk and walked around the sit down and talk to her face to face. With a glance down at Michael, he met, and held her gaze. "I haven't complained, Tegan."

"But would you? Really? With what's been going on? Michael gets his cast off next week. I'm still grounded for another month. I have my final neural test on Monday. You haven't had time to complain. I've seen you looking out the window at night. I've seen that gleam in my own eyes when I was nineteen and moved to England. It's called wanderlust. You want to go. I know you do. You removed the time element so you wouldn't, didn't you?"

He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "You always knew me too well, Tegan."

"I've guessed it."

"You've guessed it," he confirmed. "But"

"Then go," she said quietly. "I'd really you'd rather go if you want to than stay. You'll hate us if you stay beyond what you want. And I would really like to maintain some resemblance of a friendship with you." She shrugged, but the motion was stopped with his hand gently touching her cheek. The tenderness shocked her into silence.

"You're trying to shove me out the door, Tegan. And for a woman with two broken legs, that's a tad bit impossible," he joked. "Quiet for a moment and listen. I want to stay, Tegan. For now. You need me. Amy needs someone in one piece in the house and Michael needs me. I removed the time element to take away unnecessary temptation. It might have slipped your attention, brave heart, but I do rather like to be needed. Call it a personality weakness or strength; however you want to look at it. What's the use of running about the Universe saving planets, if you can't help a friend? Hmm?"

She frowned. His hand remained on her cheek and his thumb was gently stroking its contours. "You've thought about this."

"Yes. A great deal. And most of it while you were in your day coma. You asked it of me. And I agreed."

Tegan's frown deepened. "I asked it of you?"

"On the pavement, after the accident. You asked me to take care of Amy and Michael."

Her eyes opened wide. "And you agreed to it?"

"You don't"

"No," she raised her hand to stop him from continuing on that line of thinking. "No. I do. I just never put it in to words like that before. You are the only man I trust with them like that. You know that, Doc. And with eight more lives to goyou definitely have longevity on your side."

"Hmm, well," he smiled at her attempt at a joke. "It feels like a home, Tegan. Your flat, that is. And it has been a great long spell since I've been anywhere that feels like a home. Do you understand? Hmm? Let me deal with the staying part. And rest assured I will let you know when it's been too long."

She sighed and managed a smile. His hand stopped its gentle stroking of her cheek and fell to rub at Michael's head. "Let's get him back to the flat."

With a nod, she agreed. And his eyes searched hers for a moment, looking for the something that he couldn't place, but found anyway. Then he strode around the wheelchair and began to push her and her sleeping son back towards their flat.

**

Tegan glanced guiltily towards the door to the kitchen and continued to pull herself with her arms onto the wheelchair. The past three weeks of moving about under her own power of her arms had strengthened them. She smiled triumphantly when she settled her hips in the chair. "Of course," she muttered. "I'm finally able to handle this when I'm to get these casts off"

Michael skittered through the room and ran for the kitchen. Tegan immediately reprimanded him. "Walk, Michael. You just got that arm mended."

Her son slowed and the Doctor stuck his head around the corner from the kitchen to glance at the boy and then Tegan. His frown showed that wasn't too happy about her getting into the chair without his guidance and help. "Breakfast is on the table, Michael," he stated, then called: "Amy! Breakfast! You have to leave for school."

Tegan nearly laughed at the domestic tone in his voice and wheeled herself toward the kitchen door. He shook her head as she went past him. "Tegan" he warned.

"I wanted to get up, Doc. And I can't have you always there; I'm fine," she reassured. 

"You heard what your doctors said, Tegan," he replied. "You don't have complete sensory input abilities in your feet, yet."

"I can feel when they are cold, hot or when I'm brushing against something, Doc."

"But not pain," he frowned. "You could step on glass and not feel it."

"Yes," she drew out, pulling the chair up to the table. "I remember" she gave Michael a grin and watched as her son reached for a piece of toast. "I wish you would let me help in here. And you double checked the results of my tests in thein your house. And when do I have glass on my floor?"

The Doctor frowned. Amy went passed him to the counter and put down a small piece of paper on the table as she went. "Tegan, we've discussed the cooking. Your range is higher than would be safe or comfortable for you."

"There is the sink and washing vegetables and the like, Doc," Tegan argued. "Honestly. You aren't going to be here forever"

The Doctor's frown deepened.

She shook her head slowly at him. "I wouldn't be me if I didn't try and get things done myself, now would I?"

He opened his mouth to answer and gave up with a grin. "True, Tegan. Very true. Now" he put his toast down picked up the piece of paper Amy had handed to him. "What have we here? HmmmI seemed to have misplaced my glasses."

Tegan held out her hand and he gave her the paper. The coffee cup went down as her eyes perused the sheet. "Tonight, Amy?"

"Yes, Momma," Amy agreed. "The teacher asked you to be there at five."

Tegan frowned. "Has she said what she wants to talk to me about?"

Amy shook her head no, her dark locks dancing merrily about her face. "I haven't been bad, Momma."

"I know, honey," Tegan said quietly. The Doctor was staring at her so she explained the contents of the note. "Amy's teacher wants to have a meeting with me today at five, but the note doesn't say why."

"I'll have to get you there," he replied. "You have one teacher, Amy?"

"Yes, Doctor" Amy answered, confused. "Am I supposed to have more than one?"

"No," Tegan stated forcefully as the Doctor frowned at the piece of paper on the table. "I'll call my mother, Doc and see if she can come down a little early today. Maybe she can drive me"

The Doctor lifted an eyebrow. "I would like to come along, Tegan."

She reached under the table and hit his knee to keep him quiet. As Amy finished up her breakfast and Mrs. Smythe knocked on the door to pick her up for school, Tegan kept the Doctor under a stern glare. Michael put his plate in the sink and ran out to the sitting room to watch his favorite cartoon. When both children had left the room, Tegan wheeled herself back from the table and towards the sink. 

"Tegan?"

"Doc, they are my children. I can still be their motherin a wheelchair or not. I don't need you to go to this meeting. I could have Mum drive me instead"

She turned the wheelchair around and backed it into the counter, steadying it before she reached around to turn on the faucet. The Doctor leaned back from the table and crossed his arms over his chest. With a raised eyebrow, he asked: "Can you reach?"

"Perfectly, for the moment," she muttered. "Really, Docyou don't have to go"

"I know I don't have to go. That isn't the issue here, is it? The issue is that you don't want me to go."

"Well," Tegan muttered, reaching into the basin as best she could. He winced as he watched her lever on her one arm to grasp a plate with the other hand. "I don't know, Doc" she said absent-mindedly as she concentrated on getting the plate under the water with soap. 

"Are you nervous about the meeting?" he pressed.

"Well, she's only just in public school. It's my first conference" Tegan began. Then with a frown, she began to wash the dishes as best she could without looking into her sink. "Why do you want to go?"

"I'm curious," he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

"About Amy? Or about the English Public School system?" she pressed.

"Well, I'm always curious about the English Public School system," he joked in return. He sighed as he shifted and rose to grab the towel to dry. "I don't know why I am curious, Tegan. Have you ever known me to have a reason for curiosity? This is something that I would never do, normally."

"Rather this is something normal that you might never do," she corrected him. "Doc, it's for parents."

He nodded. He didn't quite understand why he was as interested as he was about the conference that Tegan had, but he had been the one that had helped Amy in the beginning of her school year with reading and maths. He had been sending the child off in the morning when Tegan was unable or had still been in the hospital. He had watched her chew her pencil end as she mulled over the answer to question. It wasn't that Tegan wasn't being a parent. She was, but in the evenings she tired easy and he tried to take up the slack. The Doctor felt a part of Amy's life as he felt a part of Michael's. "I understand that, Tegan. I can't quite tell you why I wish to accompany you, but"

She finished up on the last plate and glanced at him. He swore he saw a light of understanding bloom in her gaze, and he worried because he didn't have the same understanding. "All right," she said carefully, quietly. 

**

The Doctor put his glasses on the end of his nose and frowned at the various drawings on display outside Amy's classroom. They were outlines of leaves and hands. When he reached Amy's, he felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. She had drawn an elm tree and had an elm leaf lying next to it. Even the color was proper. He remembered the evening that Amy had asked him for help. It was before Tegan and Mike had come home from the hospital. She had run out to him with her paper. Although child-like, she had produced the tree outside the apartment perfectly. He had taken her outside and together they had found the proper leaf for the tree. Proudly, she had taken the leaf back up and at the kitchen table, she had traced and colored the leaf. When he had tucked her in that night, she had given him a kiss on his cheek.

The next day he had removed the time element from the TARDIS.

The teacher walked out into the hallway and to Tegan, introducing herself. Tegan, in turn, introduced the Doctor as a close family friend and caretaker while she recovered. He was accepted without question. 

**

"I knew you were turning them into intellectuals, Doc," Tegan laughed. "I would have thought I would have been called into school because Amy was talking out of turn quicker than to find out that they want her to attend a special maths class."

"You're pleased, I take it," he pressed, glancing at her.

"Well, yes," she sighed. "You've been working with her, haven't you?"

"While you are reading to Michael, yes," he responded. He smiled and returned his eyes to the road. "What I have been going over with her, however, isn't out of the range of second grade, Tegan."

"She's in first."

"Well, it never hurts to understand a little bit more," he replied, his voice lower as he defended his position. "She likes maths, Tegan."

"And you wonder how she is my child," Tegan stifled a smile and glanced out the window of the car. "Tom was excellent in maths. She obviously has his ability. I love her, but I know she will be above me in that department if she takes after him."

He opened his mouth, but Tegan reached over to his leg to quiet him. "Thank you. You're giving her an opportunity I would have never been able to. And it would have been something she would have possibly gotten from Tom, if hewas still here."

He cleared his throat and smiled in response.

**

"Can you feel that?" 

Tegan withdrew her foot from the Doctor's grip slowly. "Yes. It's the same reaction that I had with the doctors today. I can feel it, yes."

He kept her gaze as he gently pricked her right foot with a pin. She shrugged and shook her head. "I can't feel that," she whispered. "I mean I can feel the pressure and know that it should hurt, but"

The Doctor frowned and slowly held out his hands for her to place her feet against. She obliged and pushed as hard as she was able against his hands. He shook his head slowly. "Tomorrow"

"Is the first of the physical rehabilitation sessions," she said with a sigh, allowing her legs to drop to the couch. He caught her feet before they hit the cushions. 

He hummed as he carefully laid her legs flat on the couch. As she reached behind her to take her wine glass from the table, he snagged his. "I suppose you'll want to go alone," he stated, holding up his glass to hers. "To having your casts off," he toasted. 

Tegan smiled and sipped her wine. "Thank god and good riddance to bad rubbish," she raised her glass again. "And," she said as she set the glass back down. "If you really want to know, I want you to come along tomorrow morning. That is, if you want to come along. They told me to bring someone I trusted"

He nodded. "Are you sure you want me and not your father?" he asked. 

"Why?" she asked as he took her glass and his. 

He shrugged and glanced at the closed bedroom doors. Then put down the glasses in the kitchen and returned. She gave him a confused look when he moved the couch back against the wall, the legs silently moving along the hard wood of the floor. Then he reached down and lifted her with the gentleness and strength she was accustomed to and then he slowly lowered her feet to the ground. It was strange to feel the ground under her feet and the weeks of nonuse of her legs had her knees buckling. 

"Do you remember the exercises they told you to do daily?" he asked. 

Tegan nodded. "But what does that have to do with it being you or my father that goes with me tomorrow? All the exercises are, Doc, are walking a set distance," she gulped and sighed as he grasped her arms and backed away from her. 

"But your muscles are weak and you are going to feel pain," he stated. With that, he eased up on his grip and took two large steps back. She was just within reach. "Now, Tegan. Stand there"

"You sound like you did with Mike"

"This is a similar to that, Tegan." He frowned as she tried to support her weight and she gasped in pain. She stood there for three minutes until he gently moved his hands up to her upper arms. 

"Three minutes and counting," he said happily. But when she lifted her eyes to him, he saw that she was crying. 

"Lift me?" she asked, almost begged.

"Stand for a little while longer, Tegan," he urged. "You have to build up the strength." He helped her by supporting her under her shoulders with his arms. 

Her legs shook as she stood there until, when it appeared that her legs were going to fail her, he turned her and lifted her back into his arms. 

"Oh thank God," she whimpered. When he adjusted her and held her to walk to the couch, she silently clutched him. "I'll have to do that tomorrow?"

He nodded, sympathetically. "And eventually he'll start to have you walk a length. It's only the nonuse of your muscles, Tegan that causes the pain. Really. The quicker you increase their strength, the sooner the pain will disappear." 

She sighed and nodded, clearly warn. The freedom of having her casts off had mixed with the pain of this exercise to make her weak. "And when the pain is gone in the muscles, Doc. And we see if I can sense painful contact in my foot; you can be on your way." 

The words were said quietly and passionately. He knew she felt guilty about him being there as long as he had. But later that night, when he had stared out the window for hours and the sun was peeking over the horizon making the world bright and new, he shook his head. "Oh, Tegan. You'll have your freedom back. But I think I've willingly given mine up."

**

Tegan was confused when her mother quickly issued her out the door with the Doctor several evenings later. The Doctor nearly laughed at her surprise when he lowered her into the chair on the sidewalk and began to push her back in the direction of the TARDIS. She was in a better mood and smiling this time, when he eased her through the door and into the dim console room. 

Then he stopped the chair and she glanced up at him. 

"All right," she said, continuing their conversation they had been having since they left her flat. "I'll bite, Doc. Why are we here?"

"Dinner. Oh, and I thought you might like a few things from the TARDISfrom your old room. Your dress from the Cranleigh'sthe gifts you and Nyssa exchanged. The gifts you and I exchanged."

"Dinner, is it?" she asked, some of her bravado disappearing. "You and Michael"

"Yes, we did stop by the kitchen and program a few things into the food dispenser. Yes, I know it was sneaky as you put it. But coming here does allow you get out of the house without trying to navigate in a public restaurant. And I must admit, I don't quite feel at ease in public situations"

"Too right. I remember that," she laughed. "And it gives you time off from all of us." Her smile lessened. "You could have come herealone."

"Yes," he said with a nod and that was all. He turned the chair around and walked through the corridor door. As they walked down the dim hall, he hummed under his breath. When they walked into the small sitting area that bordered the kitchen, Tegan gave a small sigh and a quiet giggle. 

"Doc?"

"It's not that bad, surely"

Tegan shrugged and continued to laugh. The Doctor smiled widely. His attempt had been successful. The table was as it often had been when she had traveled with him: filled with books, papers, his old hat, and where there was a little bit of room, the food. Next to the table was the small shelf that held the crystal orb he had bought her on Mindas, and the small collection of Keats poetry he had given her the last Christmas they were together. He knew when she saw her two gifts: her laugh quieted and she covered her mouth with her fingers.

"You expressed delight in them, Tegan, when you received them. And you leftso quickly" he wheeled the chair towards the table and stopped it. Then before he continued to talk, he bent and helped her up, and stood back as she manuvered with increased strength to the padded chair next to the table. "You left without them. I thought you would like them"

"Of course, I would. Lord, I had almost forgotten them. I read that book twice" she fingered the crystal orb. "Cripesoh, Doc"

"Yes, well" he muttered, suddenly unsure. With a sigh, he turned and slipped his hands into his pockets and retreated to the sideboard. "I'd ask if you wanted wine, butwith your medication"

"None, Doc. Just water. I wish you had let me"

"You'll cook for me again, Tegan. Guaranteed, that."

"Oho, lad. I think you've decided to come back againwhen I'm in one piece."

"Yes, yes, I have."

Tegan sobered quickly at his tone and squinted as he walked back to the table with two mugs of water. He met her suspicious look with uneasy eyes. "I have, Tegan."

"That sounded serious," she replied.

"Slightly, yes, I suppose, you could say that," he nodded. "Talluraian Chicken?"

"Oh no"

"Tegan," he warned. "You ate Talluraian after a stomach ailment. Your inability to eat it was not the food's fault" He gave her a smile and returned from the food dispensor with the food and vegetables. 

She shrugged and served him and herself food from the plate while he dithered looking for cutting utensils. But before he could comfortably sit at the table, she sighed and he stopped his movement and gave her his 'young man caught with his hands in the cookie jar look'. "Tegan?"

She gave him the look that he warmed to as it reminded him of the times he had acted irresponsibly when she had traveled with him. After an eternity of holding his gaze, she shrugged and served the meat to her plate. "You want to come back?" she asked. The forced tone in her voice made him immediately realize that Tegan was trying hard to be nonchalant. And failed in his estimation.

He had learned, in his almost five month stint with Tegan in 'her world', that studied nonchalance could be his best friend. With a slight pursing of his lips and an attempt to look uninterested, he nodded. "Well, yes"

She frowned and set down her cutlery. "You can't carry that off, Doc, you know. You're too honest and you've thought about whatever it is too much. And the way you said that"

He set down his cutlery as well. "I'm that transparent to you?"

"You've always been," Tegan stated. "I just had to get used to you again to fall back into the knowledge again."

He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that's reassuring."

"Hell's Teeth, Doc" she sighed and gave a smile. "Out with it. What are you thinking? I thought that as soon as I was better you'd be on your way and I'd be hard pressed to see you any time in the near future. You know"

"Yes, yes," he stated with agitation. "You said that before, Tegan. I rather think freedom is more in the ability to do as one chooses instead of actually out on the run." He sighed and lowered his head. "I've been with your family on and off for the better part of a year now, if you combine Christmastime and the last five months together."

"Yes-"

He frowned and pushed the plate away so that he could get up from the table. She pushed her plate aside as well. He could tell from her mannerisms that she had expected something other than dinner when he had brought her out. Before he could start to talk to her, she spoke up. "Doc, you've given up-"

"What?" he asked, quietly, some of his agitation bleeding away. "What have I given up, Tegan? Traveling about the Universe? Freedom?"

"Well, yes."

He sighed and glanced at the ceiling. "I have a young girl asking me to help her with her maths and who gives me a kiss when I turn her in at night. I have a young boy that cheerfully clambers onto my lap at night and has asked me not go away."

"Michael said-" Tegan appeared shocked. "Oh Doc, I-"

He turned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't apologize, Tegan, please. It isn't something to apologize foryour children are just quite free in showing theiraffection."

"They do like you, Doc. Very much. Michael is besotted with you and Amy, well" she smiled and pushed her plate further away from her. "Young girls have a need for acceptance from their caretaker menits natural."

He nodded and with a swallow, continued. "You warned me years ago that being with you and your family might lead to them feeling for me. They have. And you know? I have affection for them too. I'll miss them when I leave above and beyond what I thought I would."

"Oh Doc."

He frowned and returned to his seat with a sigh. "I need to do a few things, Tegan. I'll need to return Peri to her own time. I'll have to see about prolonged grounding of a Type 40."

Tegan started at what he was saying and shook her head. Dinner had been forgotten by the both of them. The Doctor saw her reaction and continued to speak. "Tegan" he began and then rose to move his chair closer to her. The papers and books on the table slid to the other side as if pushed by a force. "Tegan, hear me out."

"Why would you even consider coming back for a prolonged stay, Doc? It's not good for you; it's not good for the children." Her voice had a slightly disbelieving and slightly panicky tone.

He rubbed his neck and spoke with his voice slightly raised. "And you?"

"What about me?" she asked quickly. He could see her anger rising. 

"Remember our time at the amusement park? Remember our conversation that night? You mentioned that you did want to have a male to act as a role model. And I mentioned that close contact would prolong your life; it would lower your stress." He saw her open her mouth again and he reached out to grab her wrist. "Please, Tegan. Hear me out. I've seen what it's like for you. If you had been alone, if anything had happened to you, if you hadwhat would have happened to the children? Yes, yes, I knowyour parents, but Tegan"

She sighed and his hand tightened on her wrist. "Tegan. It's rewarding. Dealing with children, watching them grow: it's rewarding."

Her eyes were wide and somewhat disbelieving when she looked at him. "And you want to what, Doc? You want to be here to see them grow?" she joked.

"Yes."

He said it with more conviction than she had ever heard in his voice. It made her recoil slightly. 

"Yes, Tegan. I'm beginning to need the interaction with them."

"No," she bit out, shaking her head. "They might need interaction with you, Doc. And you might need it with them, but they need love."

"Define love," he returned, releasing her wrist and leaning forward on the table with his elbows. "Hmm? Define love, Tegan."

"Doctor-" she warned.

"To hold in great affection, to put above oneself, an emotion earmarked by profound protection, and minimal possession," he stated. "I do care about them a great deal, Tegan. I want what's best for them. You know that I do."

She nodded dumbly. "Hell's Teeth, of course I know you do. You don't have to convince me of that. But caring about them and staying here to Docyou don't understand"

The Doctor blinked and settled his gaze on her. Tegan's sigh was loaded with many emotions and he could almost taste them. She was confused. "Explain to me, Tegan," he replied gently. 

"Doc, this isn't a hobby. These are my children's' lives we are talking about here. This isn't a joke. Cripes, I thought you were kinder than that."

"Talk to me, Tegan," he pressured.

She nearly growled out the first question. "All right. Fine. You want to discuss this. Then: are you saying that you want to be here indefinitely? That you want to help me raise my children? I can't believe you are saying this. I can't believe this has actually crossed your mind."

He knew she was asking yes or no questions requiring just that answer from him. She was feeling out the situation. And maybe, he thought, the clarification of issues will help me as well. "Yes," he nodded decisively. "It isn't all that long for me," he tried to feign nonchalance again.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know where this is coming from," she muttered. "And you'll stay here? You'll not off around the universe for long periods?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Because if I did, I might not come back as I left and you would mourn a second father figure for the children. No, I would stay."

"Has it slipped your mind that you hate being at any one place for any long period of time?"

"No. But being around your children is like learning something new everyday, Tegan. I've never been cared for so freely."

Tegan nodded. He gave an inward sigh. 

"And then after they are grown, you'll justleave?" 

He frowned at the catch he heard at the end of the sentence. With a raised eyebrow, he lowered his gaze. Now the questions were getting very personal to her. "Tegan"

"So I could hope for a solid person to be there for the children for the next approximately twenty years. As you said: it isn't a long time for a Time Lord, is it? And then you'd be off. You'll be back to gallavanting about the Universe in this lovable but not reliable crate of yours," Tegan sighed and nodded. "Of course. I should have known. You haven't changed at all. Whatever suits your purpose best. You want to do this because it is something new and something that you want to know about, but Hell's Teeth, as soon as it's good for you, you'll be off."

"That's not fair, Tegan," he muttered and then met her stare full on with one of his own. "I might travel occassionally after the children are grown. I hadn't much thought that far."

"Of course you hadn't. You haven't much thought this through at all. There's something that you haven't thought about in the least" she began heatedly and then lowered her gaze. He was intrigued. 

"Yes?" he pressed. 

"Rabbits, I wish I could walk."

"So you could walk out on this topic of conversation?"

"This is ludicrous, Doc. And a dream. It could never be reality."

He sighed and lowered his gaze. "Pray continue, Tegan. Tell me why."

"What did I tell you in the fun park, Doc? I don't think my memory has that much left me. I told you that I didn't need a man; I wanted a man."

"Ah," he nodded. The questions had been getting personal. 

"It's not possible, Doc. I wanted a man that I could love" she frowned widely and shook her head. She decided to slay the dragon head on. "Damn it, Doc. I want a man that I could love and who would love me in return. I want a man to be with me and not just my children. You would do wonderfully by the children. I know you would. But one day they will be grown and then you'll be on your way. And I'll be alone. Again." Before he could answer that charge, she continued. "Doc, I want a husband, not a friend. I know that we get along wonderfully, now, but"

He rolled his eyes. "Why do humans put so much emphasis on sex?" he asked no one. 

She gaped at him and he reached out to touch her cheek again as he had weeks before. "That's what this is about, Tegan," he pressed. "Close constant human contact. Do you think I'm suggesting this just for the children?"

"You can't be-"

"Hmm?" he asked. 

"But it still remains," she said, clearly falling into shock. "That you don't love me, Doc. You love my children. Is it wrong-"

"To expect a man to love both you and your children, no. I can't say that I love you, Tegan, but I do care about you a great deal. I don't think that any Time Lord can love. But affection, caring, protectionTegan, you've had that for a long time."

She shook her head, holding up her hands in her 'ward off the evils of the universe pose' and took a deep breath. He swallowed hard when he saw tears forming in her eyes. She was acting much like she had when she had left him. "This isn't your responsibility," she bit out. 

"True," he said quietly, but his next words held some anger. "And when I come back to visit you again and you have a man as the children's father? Hmm?"

Tegan closed her eyes with a squeeze of pain. 

"You don't think that will affect me?" he asked, heatedly. 

She rolled her head back and stared at the ceiling while she searched it for answers. "It would, Doc, I know. Butit's the children"

He released a vicious sigh and rose to walk away from the table. Silence descended between them as he paced. Then viciously, he stopped and rubbed at the back of his neck. She shook her head and with a theatrical frown, she threw her arms wide. 

"I know it's selfish, Doc. I know it's not as self-sacrificial as I should be, but"

The Doctor turned around and shook his head. She could see a small smile on his lips. "Would any man treat you like I do, Tegan? Would any man be able to take you to Paris or Australia or America without jet lag and with ready made accommodations? Would any man know you as well as I do?" He neared her and bent a little at the waist to glance at her. "I know Thomas was a wonderful husband to you. He fathered two beautiful children. But did he know you as well as I do? Did he know that you love the Charleston? Did he know that you have problems sleeping when it rains? Would any other man know that? Would they know that you would walk through fire for me and I would do the same for you?"

Her face crunched as she fought back tears. It was all or none for her now. He could sense that. "Thomas never had to know that, Doctor. We lived a normal life."

"I can live a 'normal' life as you put it," he grumbled. "I have been for five months."

"No," she nearly shouted. "All right? No other man would treat me like you do. But"

"But" he prodded, quiet falling over his mannerism again.

Tegan bit her lip and the Doctor regained his seat across from her. "Go on, Tegan. You want to say that you've thought of this. You've thought of me in this situation and not only since we've reacquainted, but also when we traveled. That you cared for me, perhaps even loved me"

"Very egotistical of you," Tegan barked. 

"It isn't egocentricism, Tegan. I knew."

"Good heavens above," she moaned. He wouldn't allow her to close her eyes and reached out to catch her chin in his hand. She looked mournful. "I knew then it wouldn't work and just became your friend. Hell, you wouldn't even look at me. That helps, you know, when you are trying to dull an attraction. But that's old news," she continued, meeting his gaze. "I'm past it. I was past it when I left you."

"No," he corrected gently. "You let infatuation die and let true caring and affection rise. You weren't past it as you put it, Tegan. You had simply let it mature," he said haughtily.

"And now?" she asked. "Doc" 

Her lip trembled. He found himself resisting the urge to soothe it with a gentle touch. "You'd stay with me, with the children."

"Yes."

She appeared to blush slightly at his answer. "This is silly, you know. We're discussing and arguing and yelling about an impossibility."

"We can say we'll attempt it and see if we can work out the problems."

"But" she interrupted. "Docyou're talking years. You're also talking about living with me and the children. There'll be shouting matches when they get older, family thingsyou just want to be their caretaker, Doc, but there is so much more"

"I realize that," he replied softly. "But I would like to give it a try, for you, for the children." For me, he thought, with a small amount of surprise. 

"But why are you so keen, Doc?" she asked, unable to stop herself.

"Because I've thought about it," he sighed. "And found the thought of staying appetizing. Very much so."

"Problems, Doc?" she laughed, trying to wipe her tears away. "It's a disaster waiting to happen."

He frowned in response and wiped at two of her tears with his thumb.

**

Michael clutched Bear in his arms and sniffled as he looked at the Doctor over the top of his covers. Tegan hobbled by the door, Christmas carols filling the air and he sensed her rather than saw her lean against the doorjam. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" he answered quietly, making sure the blanket and sheet were securely tucked around the boy's small frame. When he finished, he sat down on the edge of the bed. "What is it, Mike?"

"You're leaving?"

"Just for a little while, Mike. Maybe two days," he nearly cooed. "I'll be back to fly your kite by the weekend. I promise."

"I don't want you to go away," Mike whispered, rubbing at Bear's head. 

The Doctor smiled gently. Michael's blond brown tresses were growing long and feathered across the boy's forehead and his brown eyes were large and, if the Doctor looked closely, he could see that they were close to tears. He laid his palm against the boy's head and then cupped his cheek. "I know, Mike. I want to stay too, but some things can't be helped. I'll be back very very soon. I'll need you to be your mother's knight until I get back. Can you do that for me?"

Michael nodded mournfully and then sniffed. "Knights ride horses."

"Yes, yes they do. And someday soon, I'll teach you to ride one," the Doctor whispered confidentially.

With a sigh, the boy peeled back the blankets and sat up, pushing everything but Bear aside. Then he climbed into the Doctor's lap and embraced his neck as hard as his little arms could. The kiss he gave the Time Lord was on his cheek and was suitably child-like and sweetly messy. "I love you," he whispered. 

With a sigh, the Time Lord encircled the boy with his arms and wistfully rubbed the back of the toddler's head. "I love you too, Mike. Sleep peacefully and I'll see you before your sister is back in school, all right?"

The boy nodded and the Doctor tucked him and his Bear back into the blankets. He rose and gave the boy a kiss on his brow. And then, to the dying chords of Silent Night, the Doctor quietly closed the bedroom door.

**

"I can't believe you're serious about this," she muttered. 

"I will be back within 48 hours or so, Tegan. Maybe tomorrow," the Doctor responded. He finished putting on his cricket clothes with a flourish.

She hobbled to the door with him and leaned against the doorjam. "Are you sure?"

"Are you sure?" he retorted, lifting an eyebrow.

Tegan bit her lip and gave a sigh. "I do care about you and the children love you, Doc. And I did say yes to at least thinking about this."

With a smile he nodded. "I'll be back soon, Tegan. Before you even get used to me being gone," he joked. "And when I return, we can begin to decide if this is manageable."

She gave him a sad smile and adjusted her weight on her feet. "Come back in one piece," she warned. 

He lifted one eyebrow and hummed, turning for the door. She whispered his name before he could walk out the portal into the mid winter morning, past the pile of Christmas wrapping awaiting garbage pick up. He turned and she came to him, reaching out to steady on the doorjam. "Rabbits."

"What?" he asked.

He wasn't surprised when Tegan came close to embrace him. His arms, he thought, had corporeal memories of carrying her, holding her and supporting her for the last six months. He was used to the feeling of her small, petite arms encircling his neck. And his arms found their usual spot around her waist. But a certain level of shock and surprise entered his mind when he felt her warm lips touch the corner of his mouth, on his cheek. 

She stepped back, nearly tumbling as her still gaining strength legs struggled to hold her weight. He knew she was shy, surprisingly, about what she had just done. "It just" she answered his unasked question. "It just seemed appropriate." But even with her words, she didn't meet his gaze. "Have an adventure," she urged, turning from him, but his hand kept her from going far.

"I thought surviving a second Christmas with the Jones family was an adventure," he smiled. He cleared his throat and gave a nod. He lifted her hand and gave the back of her knuckles a kiss and then repeated it again. "I'll be back, Tegan. Look for me in two days."

Tegan nodded, almost wistfully and remained as she was as he walked down the hallway. As he entered the stairs, he gave her a small wave and turned, leaving.


End file.
